It was one of those moments high school athletes live for.Late season game. A championship on the line. Your historic rival across from you, in the way of a win. And the best of those moments: Taking that victory and its associated title.On May 20, Swampscott (13-2 overall, 12-0 NEC) sealed up the Northeastern Conference championship with a 3-2 win over Marblehead. Although the two teams were very close, Swampscott’s singles players were truly dominant with so much at stake."It was exciting to win back the title after losing the last couple of years," said head coach Nina Rogers. "[Marblehead is] a very good team. However, the singles trio of Anna Raptunovich, Vivien Gere and Veronica Pyatigorskaya once again proved how strong, focused, and consistent they can be."Raptunovich fully swept her opponent, winning 6-0, 6-0."Anna was unstoppable today. After losing in the quarterfinals of the state tournament to the No. 1 seed, Anna came into the match today prepared," Rogers said. "Her serve was awesome and she played out the points with patience and determination."Gere and Pyatigorskaya won 6-0, 6-1 overall at second and third singles, respectively, to put an exclamation point on the match.Marblehead would not leave without some points. At first doubles, Anya Peterson and Jessica Zolott pushed their foes to three sets, but lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-2."I was extremely proud of their effort," said Rogers. "There was a lot of improvement from the first match against Marblehead in which they lost in straight sets. Working together and learning more doubles strategy is always a goal as we approach the end of the season with the state tournament in the near future. I am hoping they will continue to improve."The second doubles team of Sara Cunningham and Michelle Shnayder took a 6-1, 6-2 loss."The score is not a good indication of how well the match was played," said Rogers, who added that was the case even in the matches where Swampscott won in two sets."Although she lost, Sara came off the court excited about the competition," she added. "It’s ok to lose as long as you have played, given your best effort and hopefully learned something in the process."

Road to the titlePrior to the match against Marblehead, the Big Blue defeated Danvers and Winthrop in 5-0 victories.Against Danvers on May 14, Raptunovich, Gere and Pyatigorskaya each won 6-0, 6-0 matches. Peterson/Zolott won 6-1, 6-1.Shnayder and Cunningham fought over three sets, with the spotlight fully on them for most of the match after other individual matches had finished. They eventually won 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-7).Against Winthrop on May 19, the teams played 8-game "pro sets," because of inclement weather and Winthrop having a double-header against Marblehead after Swampscott.At first singles, Raptunovich took an 8-0 win, Pyatigorskaya also won 8-0 and freshman Chelsey Todtfeld won 8-3 in her singles debut for Swampscott."It was great to give another player the opportunity to play a singles match," said Rogers. "Chelsey has been working hard all season and was certainly deserving of the chance. She played well against another freshman from Winthrop."At doubles, it was Peterson/Zolott and Cunningham/Shnayder both winning 8-0.The Big Blue went up against Lynn English on May 21 and will take on defending Division 3 state champion Manchester Essex (12-2 overall) on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in Manchester.